Lemon drops can refer to a couple different things, including a hard candy and a martini-style beverage. No matter what kind of lemon drop you want to make, it’s sure to be tasty and fun for you and any friends or guests you want to share it with. The key ingredient in any lemon drop recipe is lemon, which gives the treat a slightly sour taste and a refreshing citrus zing.

Ingredients

Candies

Makes 45 pieces

1 cup (225 g) sugar

½ cup (119 ml) water

½ teaspoon (1.7 g) cream of tartar

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) lemon extract

2 teaspoons (10 g) citric acid

Yellow gel food coloring

Castor sugar, for coating

Martini

Makes one 2.5-ounce drink

2 ounces (59 ml) vodka

½ ounce (15 ml) orange liqueur

1 ounce (30 ml) simple syrup

1 ounce (30 ml) lemon juice

1 lemon wedge

Sugar, for presentation

5-10 ice cubes

Steps

Method1

Making Lemon Drop Candies

1

Gather your ingredients and supplies. The main ingredients in lemon drop candies are sugar and lemon flavors. To make these little treats, you have to bring the sugar to a boil to get it to a specific temperature so it becomes hard candy. To do this, you'll need:[1]

Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan

Wooden spoon

Candy thermometer

Heat-proof mat

Oiled spoon

Oiled counter or marble slab

Oiled kitchen shears

Parchment-lined baking sheet

Large bowl

2

Heat the sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Combine the three ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. Stir regularly until the sugar melts and the three ingredients are fully combined.

The cream of tartar in this recipe isn't necessary, but it will help prevent the sugar from crystalizing. If the sugar crystallizes, it won’t become hard candy.

It’s important to use a heavy-bottomed saucepan, because this will prevent the sugar from burning.

3

Bring the mixture to the hard crack stage. Once the sugar melts and everything is fully incorporated, stop stirring the mixture. Use the candy thermometer to measure the temperature as the mixture heats up. You must bring the sugar to 300 F (149 C), which is the hard crack stage.[2]

The hard crack stage means that the sugar will become hard and brittle when it cools.

4

Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients. As soon as the mixture reaches the hard crack stage, remove the pan from the heat and transfer it to a heat-proof mat. Wait for the mixture to cool for about 30 seconds, and then add in the extract, citric acid, and five drops of the yellow food coloring. Stir with an oiled spoon to prevent sticking.[3]

Stir the mixture until all the ingredients are fully combined. Add another five drops of food coloring if necessary to achieve the desired shade of yellow.

5

Roll the candy into a rope. Wait about five minutes to give the candy time to cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, turn the candy out onto an oiled surface. With your hands, roll the candy into a long, thin rope. Continue rolling the candy on the counter until the rope is about one inch (2.5 cm) thick.

Alternatively, you can also pour the entire candy mixture into a parchment-lined baking sheet as soon as all the ingredients are combined. That way, you can cut the candy into any shape you like. After you pour the candy, let it cool for about five minutes before cutting it.[4]

6

Cut the rope into individual candies. When you’ve rolled the candy out into the rope, use the oiled kitchen shears to cut the candy into half-inch to inch-long (1.3 to 2.5 cm) individual pieces. Add more oil or grease to the shears as necessary to prevent sticking.[5]

If you poured the candy into the baking sheet, use an oiled knife to cut the candy sheet into individual pieces. You can cut the candies into squares, circles, strips, or any other shape you like.

7

Coat the candies with sugar before cooling. Fill the bottom of a large bowl with castor sugar. Transfer the individual candies to the bowl and toss to coat them in the sugar. When the candies are fully coated, transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool and harden for about an hour.[6]

Castor sugar is finely ground white sugar. You can coat the candies in regular granulated sugar or powdered sugar in case you can't find castor sugar.

Store any leftover candies in an air-tight container. If the candies are exposed to air, they will become sticky and soft.

Method2

Mixing Lemon Drop Martinis

1

Gather your supplies. Along with the ingredients that you'll need to make this martini drink, you'll also need a cocktail glass, a martini shaker, and a small, flat plate. The plate will be used to rim the cocktail glass with sugar.

To make the simple syrup that’s called for in this recipe, you'll need ½ cup (113 g) of sugar and ½ cup (119 ml) of water.

2

Make the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for three minutes.[7] Remove from the heat and set the syrup aside to cool for about 30 minutes.

This will make about ¾ cup (178 ml) of simple syrup, which is more than you need for a single cocktail. Transfer any leftovers to the fridge for other uses.

You can also increase or decrease the quantities to make more or less syrup. You always need equal parts sugar and water to make simple syrup.

3

Prepare the glass. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar onto the small plate. Take the lemon wedge and run it around the entire rim of the glass to wet the inside and outside of the rim with juice. Dip the wet rim into the sugar on the plate and twirl the glass around to coat the rim in sugar.[8]

Set the glass aside to let the sugar dry as you make the martini.

4

Combine the ingredients for the cocktail. Pour the vodka, orange liqueur, simple syrup, and lemon juice into the martini shaker. Fill the shaker with ice. Put on the strainer and the lid and shake about 10 times to mix and chill the ingredients.

To make more than one drink, simply double or triple the quantities for each ingredient that you pour into the shaker.

Good orange liqueurs for this recipe include Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, and Cointreau.[9]

You may want to wrap the martini shaker in a towel to prevent your hands from freezing.

5

Pour and serve. Remove the lid from the martini shaker, but leave the strainer in place. Pour the cocktail into the prepared glass and serve. You can garnish the drink with a piece of lemon zest, grated lemon zest, or a lemon wedge.[10]

Method3

Creating Other Lemon Drop Treats

1

Bake cookies.Lemon drop cookies are another popular lemon-flavored treat. The batter is simple to make, and once in the oven, the cookies take less than 15 minutes to cook. You can also serve lemon drop cookies with a zesty citrus glaze or icing.

Lemon drop cookies are a great summer or winter treat. In summer, try serving them with lemonade. In winter, serve with herbal tea or hot chocolate.

2

Make cough drops. Lemon is a popular ingredient in many cold remedies and cough drops. If you're feeling under the weather and are looking for a fun project, try making some homemade lemon cough drops to soothe your throat.

There are a few recipes for homemade cough drops, and many call for other soothing ingredients like honey and ginger as well.

3

Experiment with Jello shots. Jello shots are a fun way to serve gelatine desserts, and you can make your own lemon drop Jello shots at home. The process involves removing the juice and flesh from inside a lemon and using lemon rind halves to set the Jello.

This fun dessert can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic.

Community Q&A

The candy does need to reach a certain temperature. If you don't have a stove, you can probably heat the mixture in a microwave oven (in a microwave-safe bowl). Keep taking it out and stirring the mixture as you heat, and be careful not to burn yourself - use oven gloves to take it out of the microwave.